Quick tint comparison: XM-L2 CW/NW, XHP50, XP-L2, 219B & 219C

I wanted to do this after I got my D4vn today as a (sort of) point of reference for others. I tried to find things that everyone know to emphasis the colour rendering quality of LEDs.

Photos taken with HTC10 pro mode, WB 5000K.

Colour accuracy: 219B=219C>XHP50=XP-L2>XM-L2 NW>XM-L2 CW
The high CRI Nichias win hands down. Very accurate colours albeit a tad pinkish/rosy. Cree's high CRI offerings are very close but are a bit off due to tint and the potential lack of R9 I guess?

"Feels natural" with no other light sources around: XP-L2>XHP50>219C>219B>XM-L2 NW>XM-L2 CW
Cree's high CRI offerings are odd ducks really. Compared to the Nichias, both the XHP50 and XP-L2 have yellow-ish tint, but they give you that natural light feeling when it's the only light source present. The H53Fc's XP-L2 4000K reminds me of that sweet 3-4pm sunlight. Those Nichias are very colour accurate but it feels like the tint has no "personality" if you will, and belong to laboratories, especially the 219Bs.

Moral: don't get a low CRI cool white emitter.:naughty:

Edit 2: Added LED vs sunlight.



Edit: Added sunlight controls. Enjoy

Wow that Nichia C looks like Cree! It's Yellow.
Obviously The B still the king.

Excellent pics thank you

thanks for the photos
I like this N219b best.. closest second is the XHP50, but you can see it makes the Sriracha more brown (the XHP50 seems to have a yellow cast, while the N219b seems to have more color clarity)

TCY said:

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I'm a warmer tint guy myself but ~5000K brings out the colours better indeed. (4000K is more eye-friendly at night for me though)To my eyes the 219Cs are more rosy than yellow..

TCY said:

I'm a warmer tint guy myself but ~5000K brings out the colours better indeed. (4000K is more eye-friendly at night for me though)To my eyes the 219Cs are more rosy than yellow..

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You have to remember, our eyes adapted to the sun. Noon is around 5500k so this looks most correct to us. Given the particular tint is as close to neutral as possible

staticx57 said:

You have to remember, our eyes adapted to the sun. Noon is around 5500k so this looks most correct to us. Given the particular tint is as close to neutral as possible

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Can't help, I just tend to stick to warmer lights at night. For "neutral" light my SC600Fd Plus on turbo is currently my favourite but it can't stay on turbo for too long:thumbsup:

Turbo is 99% the physical size of the light

Re: Quick tint comparison: XM-L2 CW/NW, XHP50, XP-L2, 219B & 219C

From the photos, I would pick the 219b at about 5000K.

I have compared Manker E14 with 219b against Emisar D4 with 219c and I think it's easy to distinguish the better color rendition of the 219b from the 219c.

For colour rendition alone 219B is still the best it seems. I wonder if there's a R9050 5000K 219C would it make a difference?

TCY said:

I'm a warmer tint guy myself but ~5000K brings out the colours better indeed. (4000K is more eye-friendly at night for me though)To my eyes the 219Cs are more rosy than yellow..

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Im on a warm streak and really enjoying some 3000k N219c. Just got back from camping and I chose not to use my 4000k for hanging out in the camper, it was unnecessarily glaring for relaxation time.

each color has its application
yes our eyes can handle sunlight, and when they are set to that temperature, it makes sense to use a light with similar color temperature as that environment

I would not want to use a 3000k, nor even a 4000k light, to work on a car during the day, if I had the option to use a 6000k

then again, our eyes can handle moonlight, and when they are adapted to that color temperature, 3000k is extremely pleasant, while 6000k would be very glaring.. courses for horses

Ive been using 4000k for EDC, as a sort of compromise, since its a bit too warm during the day, and a bit too cool at night.

ideally, I rotate from 3000k that I use when its pitch black out, and my brain is adapted to nighttime, to 4000k in the evening when house lights are on.. to 5000 or even 6000k, if I need light during the day, when I have been in the sun.

what color the light "looks" depends totally on the ambient color temperature (white balance) at the time

Only if I compare beams side by side, can I see the relative pink or yellow Tint of some of my LEDs

example.. note all 3 are the same color temperature but have very different Tints, one is above the BBL (strong yellow), one is below the BBL (slight pink), and one appears closest to pure white with just a touch of yellow


even identical batch and model LEDs vary in Tint, noticeably primarily only when compared side by side

"White" LEDs are not on a single point on a rainbow, it has a range of temperatures, and varies within tint bands..

a 5-6000k that looks white during the day, can look cool blue in the dark of night
a 3-4000k light that looks warm orange during the day, can look white at night

here is an example of the effect of setting the camera to a 6000k white balance, vs a 4000k white balance (my phone automatically matches the highest color temp in the photo
3000k N219c, 4000k N219b, 6000k XP-G2: note how the 4000k looks pink

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/34398031004_5fcb58d31e_c.jpg


now the exact same 3000k N219c, and 4000k N219b, (removed the 6000k):


notice than now, with white balance set to the same color temperature as the 4000k N219b, the pink does not show, and now the 4000k light looks white. This is real.

Try this sometime..
during the day, shine a 4000k light on a white ceiling. You will see it looks "warm" yellow.
at night, after sitting for an hour under a 3000k incandescent, shine the same 4000k on the ceiling.. I promise you it will look cool white, not warm yellow..

the key is what color temperature your brain has adapted to (takes 30 minutes btw), essentially the brain changes its white balance from sunlight to moonlight, depending on the ambient color temperature.

here btw is a comparison of three supposedly identical N219b 5000k: clearly only one is relatively pink:

"Still nothing compares to..." Nichia 219B. Best blue, red, white color representation.

vadimax said:

"Still nothing compares to..." Nichia 219B. Best blue, red, white color representation.

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I prefer N219b for 4000k and 4500k,
for 3000k and 5700k the 219c is easier to find atm

My present favorite 4000k LED is an N219b it has my favorite Pink Tint, from illumn.com
My present favorite 3000k LED is an N219c it has a slightly Yellow Tint that is not my favorite, but I like the Warmth, from VirEnce.com

Now I want a 6000k High CRI option, and Im debating a N219b 5700k, and a N219c 5700k. Neither is available atm.. but I would prefer a Pink Tint over Yellow Tint. Some N219c Do also have Pink Tint.

Although I am an N219b snob, Ive started appreciating that there is a place for Low CRI LEDs that are simply brighter, even if their tint is greener. Usually the higher lumen levels, above 1000, will be dominated by Low CRI non Nichia options.

Back on topic
look at this photo composite I made from TCY's excellent photos,
notice how much more brown the Low CRI LED makes the Shriracha


IF we had a daylight control shot to compare to, it would be even more informing, but even just looking at the 3 Red Rooster Sauces shows good comparison differences.

then again, any of those lights, alone, would work to find the Sauce in the Dark .. I just want it to look "right"..

If you could only have one, which would you pick?
I like the one in the middle best, it is closer to blood red, the left is too brown and the right is a bit too orange..

but now, if you have a bottle of Red Rooster Sauce at home, and you hold it up to the monitor, you may discover that it is not the same color as any of the Three in the Picture..

Its fun to have more than one light choice..

TCY said:

For colour rendition alone 219B is still the best it seems. I wonder if there's a R9050 5000K 219C would it make a difference?

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VirEnce has recently offered some N219b and also N219c that were R9080.. (higher R9)

here is the difference in R9 (the red bar, between R9050 and R9080)
(pics from the VirEnce site, thanks to maukka)

Sunlight control shots added. That nice wood table of mine doesn't get much love from the Sun so this is the best place I could think of.. right in front of my door:nana:

Looks like the R9080 flavour has a Ra of ~97? That's some impressive numbers, I almost want to grab some and plead Vinh to build another D4vn for me lol. Thanks for sharing Jon!

Thanks for your photos TCY!

TCY said:

Looks like the R9080 flavour has a Ra of ~97? That's some impressive numbers, I almost want to grab some and plead Vinh to build another D4vn for me lol. Thanks for sharing Jon!

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this 4000k 9080 N219b is the only 9080 in stock atm

but for a D4 you might want an N219c 5700k 9080. They are out of stock, but I suggest asking Vinh if he bought some..

the C is less likely to be vaporized at the high power levels... and the cooler CCT may be more suitable for high lumen applications

my 3000k-4500k applications are usually 200 lumens and less
above 1000 lumens I tend to move to cooler color temperatures above 5000k

Added comparison directly against sunlight.

How did you get the CRI 92 M43?

Bob_McBob said:

How did you get the CRI 92 M43?

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It's just the stock 219B, I read somewhere that it has a typical CRI of 92 but forgot where.